Xtera Closes $110M Second Round

Xtera Communications Inc. (www.xtera.com), the optical networking company that is creating groundbreaking technologies for long-haul and ultra-long-haul optical networks, today announced it has completed its second round of financing for $110 million. With this round, the company has raised $133 million to date.

At a time when investors are being more cautious with their investments, this level of funding is a clear expression of the confidence that investors have in Xtera’s ability to solve the critical problems of bandwidth and distance in the all-optical network.

“The strength of our Raman technology and customer-centric business model allows Xtera to partner with equipment manufacturers to deliver new technologies and features to carriers far more quickly than ever considered possible, ” said Jon Bayless, Chairman and CEO of Xtera. “With the financial strength and stability this funding provides for Xtera, we’re in an ideal position to execute our strategic plan to deliver leading-edge products to the optical communications field.”

The lead investors in this round were Rho Ventures and Star Ventures Management. Other new investors include CenterPoint Venture Fund and Berkeley International. Reaffirming their commitment to Xtera Communications with significant new investments were Communications Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Sevin Rosen Fund, ARCH Venture, EDF Ventures and Hook Partners.

“Xtera offers high level product differentiation and a strong customer value proposition. Their intellectual property creates significant barriers to competitive entry,” said Ben Terk, Principal at Rho Ventures. “This combination, coupled with management’s broad-based telecommunications expertise and proven track record, will produce critical technology and products that enable major equipment manufacturers to be successful in solving the bandwidth needs of carriers.”

Xtera is poised to debut the first of the products based on its patented Raman technology – the Xtera eXpander – at the OFC 2001 trade show in March. The first Xtera eXpander product will enable carriers to get double the bandwidth out of their existing fiber while realizing lower Gb/km costs. This milestone comes following a year that saw the company expand into its new headquarters in North Texas’ telecommunications-technology corridor and complete the hiring of its management team.

http://www.xtera.com